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Lawyer asks that stay be lifted to pursue $2M judgment before MSC

The lawyer for an Ann Arbor architect who sued the city of Detroit and won a $2 million verdict has asked Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes to lift the automatic stay in Detroit’s historic bankruptcy case and let him pursue the matter in front of the Michigan Supreme Court.

The request is one of what could be many such requests, which Rhodes anticipated.

Now, Rhodes is considering whether to create a committee so similarly-situated plaintiffs are adequately represented during the bankruptcy case. “I think the last thing any of us wants is a flood of motions for reliefs of stay filed by people with lawsuits against the city,” Rhodes said.

“I don’t know if there are any other people in this position,” said Farmington Hills attorney Raymond Guzall, who represents the plaintiff and asked that the stay be lifted. “He has a sizable judgment and the facts are pretty unique.”

The plaintiff, Michael Beydoun, wants his payout despite the city’s Chapter 9 filing. “I’m the victim and this isn’t right,” Beydoun said, reports The Detroit News. “Right now, they rob you without a gun. That’s what Kevyn Orr and Rick Snyder are doing.”

Beydoun sued and won the judgment after he was severely injured in 2009 when a Detroit police officer ran a red light and crashed into his car. The city unsuccessfully appealed. In June, the city tried to get Beydoun to accept less money, said Guzall, or otherwise the city said it would take the case to the Supreme Court. Then a few days later, the city filed for bankruptcy, which froze the payout.

Beydoun’s request to lift the stay suggested the city’s bankruptcy filing was a last-minute bid to dodge paying his $2 million judgment, among others.